1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery housing for compact electric apparatus, or more particularly, to a battery housing for a compact electric apparatus such as a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various structures have been proposed as a battery housing for a camera that is a compact electric apparatus, and put to practical use. For example, an arrangement shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 has been known as a battery housing for storing multiple batteries in a row sideways. FIG. 9 is an exploded oblique view of a battery cover 59 of a conventional battery housing. FIG. 10 shows a longitudinal cross section of the battery cover 59 in an assembled state.
The battery cover 59 is a battery cover for a waterproof camera, which consists mainly of a battery cover body 50, an O-ring presser 52, locking claws 54, a rotation drive member 51 for driving the claws 54, and a presser 53 on which battery contacts 53a are arranged.
A fluid-tight O-ring 55 for shutting out fluid from a battery insertion opening 57a (See FIG. 10) of a camera body 57 is engaged with an O-ring inserting section 50a of the battery cover body 50. The O-ring 55 is pressed with the presser 52 so as not to come off body 50. An axial cyclinder 51a of the rotation drive member 51 is fitted into a hole 50b bored in the center of the battery cover body 50 with a fluid-tight O-ring 56 attached thereto.
A plurality of seats 50c each having a guide surface 50d are formed at four corners of the battery cover body 50. The seats 50c are penetrate through holes 52a bored on the O-ring presser 52 and project upwardly. The two claws 54 are placed so that they can slide freely along the opposed guide surfaces 50d of the seats 50c of projections via sliding surfaces 54b thereof. Pins 54a formed on the claws 54 are fitted into associated grooved cams 51d dug in the rotation drive member 51 so that the pins 54a can slide freely. Then, the presser 53 holding the O-ring presser 52, claws 54, and rotation drive member 51 is fixed to the battery cover body 50 with screws 60 inserted in screw holes 53b.
The two claws 54 move in or out in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 10 with the movements of the pins 54a resulting from the rotation of the rotation drive member 51. When the claws 54 move out, the claws 54 cooperate with the battery cover body 50 to lock the battery cover 59 in the camera body 57.
Mounting or dismounting the conventional battery cover 59 having the aforesaid construction in or from the camera body 57 will be described in conjunction with FIGS. 10 to 12. FIGS. 11 and 12 show the operating states of the battery cover 59 with the presser 53 removed. The rotation drive member 51 is rotated by turning a coin inserted in a slot 51b, which withdraws the claws 54 to an unlocked position shown in FIG. 11. After batteries are loaded in the camera body 57, the battery cover body 50 is inserted in the opening 57a.
Then, the rotation drive member 51 is rotated to project the claws 54. Then, the state shown in FIG. 10 or 12 is attained. The battery cover body 50 and claws 54 hold the camera body 57 tightly. The battery cover body 50, claws 54, and camera body 57 engage with one another, and thus the battery cover 59 is mounted (i.e. locked). To dismount the battery cover 59, the rotation drive member 51 must be rotated to withdraw the claws 54 (FIG. 11).
The foregoing conventional battery cover 59 has a capacity for locking a battery cover in a camera and a capacity for placing batteries in an electrically conducting state. However, dedicated locking claws 54 are needed. Anyhow, the number of parts is large and assembling efficiency is poor, which deteriorates cost-effectiveness.